Pactiv Evergreen: 'best kept secret'

Nov. 24—PLATTSBURGH — Pactiv Evergreen is believed to be the best kept secret in Plattsburgh.

"By far," Charlie Martin, safety and training coordinator for Pactiv Evergreen, said.

The manufacturer makes recognizable, everyday products for large franchises across the country right here in Plattsburgh, but plenty of local people aren't aware of it.

"The biggest product we make are cup carriers," he said. These can also be referred to as "cruiser movers."

The Pactiv Evergreen facilities in both Plattsburgh and Chihuahua, Mexico, produce all of the cup carriers for big name franchises like Dunkin' Donuts, Wendy's, McDonald's and Wawa across the country.

"We have five machines up here, they have four machines down there. So out of nine machines, we make all of them."

Martin says many of the local students who came to his station at Clinton Community College's manufacturing day were surprised to learn this.

They were also surprised to learn how the cup carriers are made.

"It's all 100% recycled newspaper. We get them from landfills and stuff like that. We get them shipped in as these big bales. We clean the paper, filter out any nastiness. Then we mix it with water, chemicals. We turn it into almost like an oatmeal consistency. We run it over molds. We take them out of the molds, run them through a dryer system, and then we get the cup carrier," he said.

"It's a lot of fun."

Additionally, Pactiv Evergreen makes paper plates, berry baskets, stadium trays and much more, he said.

"On an average day, right now, with our return labor crisis, we're able to make roughly, in a 24 hour period, between 115,000 and 120,000 pounds of product in a day," Martin said.

"We are 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 363-days-a-year-operation; we're always doing something, always growing. So the one big thing that I've been telling all the kids is when I was their age ... my parents were both teachers and they sat me down and said, 'Listen, if you don't want to go to college, find a job that is sustainable.'"

Martin found that in Pactiv Evergreen and hopes others will get that chance too.

Currently, the Plattsburgh location employs 130 people consisting of direct hires and "temps." They want to reach 152 direct hires.

"So we're about 20 people short," Laurel Genier, HR manager at Pactiv Evergreen, said.

"Then we want to keep our temps in the local area about 24 because what we do is the temps fill in for vacations and holidays, and then after they have if they are doing great, they want to convert, we're going to convert them. There's room to grow."

Genier pointed to Martin's own career so far as proof of the growth that's possible at the company.

"He started out as a packer," she said. "He's been here for almost 15 years and he took other positions ... and then he became a team lead which fills in for the supervisor, became a supervisor and three years ago, he (was made) our safety training coordinator."

Email: cnewton@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: CarlySNewton